Working towards an education
Starting up a self- funding tertiary institution in Hong Kong’s crowded university marketplace would not be easy, if it weren’t for the uniqueness of the proposition.
Tung Wah College, which has just opened for its first academic year, has distinguished itself with a first-of-its-kind co-operative programme for Hong Kong. And to manage this scheme through the Co-operative Education Resource Centre (CERC), it is on the lookout for an administrator and a couple of coordinators.
During the programme, students undergo 12 months in the workforce, in a full-time paid position. In so doing, the programme – which college president Professor Thomas Wong introduced after studying its practice at some North American universities – benefits both students and the companies.
Students join the partnering commercial or non-governmental organisations in the second or third year’s second semester, working from January to December.
“Work-based learning will create responsible employees, develop students’ communication and interpersonal skills, and help them master the Chinese and English languages,” says Wong. “The job may not be the same as their chosen field. It will open up their horizons,” he adds.
Students will need to apply for the full-time jobs and undergo a rigorous interview process, in which they will compete with their classmates and negotiate their own salaries.
To introduce them to working life, Year One students must learn to take care of their community, looking after classrooms, the laboratory, and library and making the campus greener. The best performing second year students can become mentors to their first-year contemporaries – a job for which they are paid.
They will also be required to study four courses during the year in classroom or web-based learning. Students are provided with tablet computers when they enrol at the college and there will be help stations manned by highly proficient IT students to help those having problems using their iPads.
The additional academic input makes the programme unique and helps students make sense of their experiences, while benefiting from keeping close ties with their tutors.
The already launched courses include a bachelor degree in business administration and a high-dip